Chart
Critics and readers agree on only one in three of their picks Of the 442 books here that made at least one critics' list or one readers' list, 156 made both. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is on eight critics' lists and not one readers' poll or bookseller's list. The Stand is the reverse: on four readers' and booksellers' lists, and no critics' list.
When both sides agree, it's on books like One Hundred Years of Solitude , Nineteen Eighty-Four and Midnight's Children . If you want a classic everyone rates, start with those. For a book the critics overlooked, look at the bottom of the chart.
Critics and readers agree on only one in three of their picks Of 442 books on a critics' list or a readers' list, 156 are on both. Bars to the left count critics' lists; bars to the right count readers' and booksellers' lists, for the 8 books each side chose most that the other left out, and the books both sides chose most. Critics' lists Readers' and booksellers' lists On critics' lists, on no readers' list The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark: on 8 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 8 0 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark A Passage to India by E.M. Forster: on 6 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 6 0 A Passage to India E.M. Forster The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler: on 6 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 6 0 The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing: on 6 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 6 0 The Golden Notebook Doris Lessing Austerlitz by WG Sebald: on 5 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 0 Austerlitz WG Sebald Scoop by Evelyn Waugh: on 5 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 0 Scoop Evelyn Waugh The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford: on 5 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 0 The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford The Trial by Franz Kafka: on 5 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 0 The Trial Franz Kafka Chosen by both sides One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez: on 5 critics' lists and 5 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 5 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel García Márquez Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: on 10 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 10 4 Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie: on 8 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 8 4 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: on 7 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 7 4 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: on 6 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 6 4 Catch-22 Joseph Heller Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: on 6 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 6 4 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: on 5 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 4 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: on 5 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 5 4 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck On readers' lists, on no critics' list The Stand by Stephen King: on 0 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 4 The Stand Stephen King The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 Birdsong Sebastian Faulks The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 The Book Thief Markus Zusak The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett The Secret History by Donna Tartt: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 The Secret History Donna Tartt Watership Down by Richard Adams: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists 0 3 Watership Down Richard Adams
Critics and readers agree on only one in three of their picks Of 442 books on a critics' list or a readers' list, 156 are on both. Bars to the left count critics' lists; bars to the right count readers' and booksellers' lists, for the 8 books each side chose most that the other left out, and the books both sides chose most. Critics' lists Readers' lists On critics' lists, on no readers' list The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark: on 8 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 8 0 A Passage to India by E.M. Forster: on 6 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists A Passage to India 6 0 The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler: on 6 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists The Big Sleep 6 0 The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing: on 6 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists The Golden Notebook 6 0 Austerlitz by WG Sebald: on 5 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists Austerlitz 5 0 Scoop by Evelyn Waugh: on 5 critics' lists and 0 readers' or booksellers' lists Scoop 5 0 Chosen by both sides One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez: on 5 critics' lists and 5 readers' or booksellers' lists One Hundred Years of Solitude 5 5 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: on 10 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists Nineteen Eighty-Four 10 4 Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie: on 8 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists Midnight's Children 8 4 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: on 7 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists The Great Gatsby 7 4 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: on 6 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists Catch-22 6 4 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: on 6 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists Wuthering Heights 6 4 On readers' lists, on no critics' list The Stand by Stephen King: on 0 critics' lists and 4 readers' or booksellers' lists The Stand 0 4 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists The Poisonwood Bible 0 3 A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists A Prayer for Owen Meany 0 3 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists Birdsong 0 3 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists The Book Thief 0 3 The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett: on 0 critics' lists and 3 readers' or booksellers' lists The Pillars of the Earth 0 3
Source: The Novel Index, from 21 critics', readers' and booksellers' lists, all credited below. Download image (PNG) The numbers behind the chart How we made this For each of the 442 books with a page on The Novel Index that appear on a critics' or a readers' list, we counted the lists on each side. On the left are the 12 critics' lists. On the right are the five readers' polls plus the four booksellers' lists and book clubs, grouped the same way as the readers' score on every book page. Prizes count on neither side.
We count lists, not ranks, so a book ranked first counts the same as one ranked 99th. There are more critics' lists than readers' lists, so bars on the left can run longer. Of the books on only one side, 182 are on critics' lists alone and 104 on readers' lists alone.
How The Novel Index works
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